Tigers send Kyle Lobstein down after first start, will call up Kyle Ryan to start in twinbill

Detroit Tigers pitcher Kyle Lobstein throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Lobstein was sent down to the minors after his start Thursday, but will likely be back next week when the rosters expand.
PAUL SANCYA — The Associated Press

What does Brad Ausmus have in his scouting report on the soon-to-be 23-year-old?

“That he’s left-handed,” the Tigers manager joked.

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“I actually haven’t heard too much about him at this point. We talked about him over the previous few days, but I don’t know much about him. I do know that he’s been throwing the ball well as of late. (Triple-A Toledo manager) Larry Parrish said he’s been throwing the ball as well or better than anyone down there. So that’s who it’s going to be.”

It certainly helps that Ryan — the Tigers’ 12th-round pick in the 2010 draft out of Auburndale (Fla.) High School, just down the road from their spring training facility in Lakeland — is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts since his promotion from Double-A Erie.

He was 7-10 with a 4.55 ERA with the Seawolves before being moved up a rung on the minor league ladder a month ago.

It also helps that the start will be right on turn for Ryan, who pitched Monday for Toledo.

The move was still tough for the Tigers, because it will mean they’ll likely lose someone in the next few days in procedural shuffling.

“It’s definitely tougher (to decide) because you’d have to put someone on the 60-day or remove someone from the 40-man so that makes it tougher inherently,” Ausmus said.

The Tigers did not immediately announce a corresponding 40-man roster move to make room for Ryan, nor one for Evan Reed, who will be called up as well Friday. Reed was designated for assignment on June 18.

In a way, though, the move with Ryan is pre-emptive, as the Tigers would have had to move him onto the 40-man roster in the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Ryan will pitch the second game of the doubleheader, allowing Max Scherzer to line up against White Sox ace Chris Sale in the opener.

After Saturday, the next trouble spot is Tuesday, when the Tigers will again have to fill Anibal Sanchez’s vacant spot in the rotation.

Kyle Lobstein went six strong innings in his big-league starting debut Thursday, and will likely be back to start again, as Ausmus said he didn’t do anything in his first start to not earn himself another.

“I sure hope so. I’d like to think so,” Lobstein said when told by a reporter he’d earned it, despite being sent down right after the game to make room for Reed on the active roster. “Whatever they need, that’s the key component here. They’re in a big race right now, and things are tight in the division, so whatever I can do to help ... They’re going to need help on the doubleheader day. Expectation is to come back up and try to get a start, or whatever my role may be.”